Recruitment is the process of locating skilled and qualified experienced potential applicants to apply for job openings. Recruitment consultancies attract large number of qualified applicants who are ready to take up the job if it’s offered. Organizations have to recruit people with requisite skills, experience and qualifications to survive in the market from competition. For that they need to tap all sources both external and internal to recruit a skilled and qualified employee.

A recruitment consultancy helps to find and select a suitable candidate for a job opening. They often visit reputed educational institutions, universities, with a view to pick up job aspirants with requisite technical and professional skills. The merits are the organization has the freedom to select candidate from a large source, people with special skills can be hired easily, and often consultancies provide better employment opportunities to skilled and qualified candidates and job seekers. Recruitment consultancy is a growing and lucrative business in the UK. Firms in the UK like Chase Zander, Vanquish Recruitment consultant, Robert Walters, Mind Bench Consulting, and CIMA, offer specialized employment related services to corporate houses for a fee.

They also have many plus points to their credit. They have many contacts and are especially good at contacting skilled and experienced candidates. They advertise all vacancies, inform job applicants the basic details and job conditions of every job advertised, process all applications with efficiency and courtesy, seek candidates on the basis of their qualifications, and aim to ensure every person invited for interview will be given a fair and thorough hearing. They identify the right candidates in a highly professional way. They also guide and provide advice relating to employment to job seekers and candidates.

On the negative side hiring costs go up and the fees charged by some can be very high, sometimes over 25 to 30 percent of the annual salary for the position to be filled. This is however highly dependent on the type of recruitment consultancy, and the amount of work they will do for the employer. Sometimes higher rates are worth paying for if the candidate pool is one which is highly skilled in nature, and are sought-after. Also, the use of a recruitment consultant should reduce the amount of time it takes to hire a suitable candidate. Today, some recruitment consultancies also help in relation to training, payroll processing, surveys and statuary compliances.

There are many ways to approach a recruiter; but before doing so, you need to know and understand how they work. To begin with, you should keep your expectations at a minimum initially, because executive recruiters are not there to help you to find a job; rather, they are looking for a suitable candidate for a client. In other words, they do not find jobs for people, they find people for jobs. They work to find the most-qualified and best-suited candidate for their client on the basis of a fee they charge the employer for each candidate they secure. The importance of a good CV cannot be ignored in getting a job, especially with executive recruiters. Your resume should be tailored to highlight your skills so they will fit a slot in a particular industry. Your resume should have strong support for the job you wish to apply for in the form of qualifications, relevant experience, skills, and accomplishments.

It would be better if you could find a recruiter who can find the job you desire in a particular location and area. This will save a lot of time, effort, and money. For this purpose, you can use databases available online, from library job resources, or from recruitment directories. Make a list of recruiters who fit your job and location. The potential of recruiters from smaller firms should not be ignored; it would be wise to include them in your list. Once you have compiled your list, make a thorough search of the recruiters’ backgrounds. You want to know their history, reputation, and experience. Be sure that the information about them is unbiased and is from independent and neutral sources.

Another vital point for getting the best job with the help of an executive recruiter is to return calls promptly. Discuss any positions of interest with them and let them know of any that you wish to avoid. You can also give them referrals for jobs they offer you if they recommend one that you don’t want. In this way, you help them by providing them with useful information and referrals, which might increase your chances of getting a better job position. Also, if the recruiter has a favorable experience with you, he or she might be able to help you out in the future.